Eight Lankan diplomats visit Hambantota Port

Foreign Ministry delegation with HIPG COO Tissa Wickremasinghe and HIPG officials

The Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry organised a visit for ambassador designates to the Hambantota International Port (HIP).  
Sri Lankan ambassadors designated to eight countries were taken on a guided tour of the HIP and followed a structured familiarisation course on the port’s current activities and future plans.
“With the beginning of container operations last month, the HIP is now a fully-fledged port, operating in five silos. We have become an important port of call for all aspects of port activities, offering significant competitive advantage in the region. 

While transshipment and bunkering taking the lead, in terms of quayside activities, the port is actively promoting its industrial zone for investors who would see opportunity setting up in South Asia.  Given the HIP’s regional significance, it is vital for Sri Lankan embassies overseas to understand the workings of the port, in order to promote it as the next best opportunity the country has to offer in ports, shipping and light industries.  Apart from that, the HIP has also become a preferred port of call for cruise ships, which means Sri Lankan embassies abroad would be able to prioritise it when promoting tourism,” said HIPG COO Tissa Wickremasinghe.

The visiting diplomats were, Ambassador Designate to Saudi Arabia O.L. Ameerjawad, Ambassador Designate to China M.J. P. Jayesinghe, Ambassador Designate to Poland T.P. Dharmasena, Ambassador Designate to Sweden K.T. Fonseka, Ambassador Designate to Thailand E.A.S.W. Edirisinghe, Ambassador Designate to Vietnam W.A.U.P. Perera, Ambassador Designate to Myanmar P.A.P. Ponnamperuma and High Commissioner Designate to the Maldives P.R.S. Goonawardene.  

The port team led by COO covered a lot of ground during the short visit, including port infrastructure expansion plans and development phases of the master plan. The familiarisation session ended with a comprehensive question and answer session that helped participants to further understand and clarify information covered.  This is the second such tour organised by the Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka.